LESLIE: Well, most homes are stick built but you could find yourself with a manufactured home which is then a great opportunity for a great home.

PAM: Well, my husband and I are going to start a construction project on a new home sometime in the next year and we’ve been considering the manufactured housing. And the local company that we have near us that we’ve been looking into, when they put the drywall up they used glue instead of nails. And I want to know about the long-term, I guess, durability of something like that; how well that glue works, if you know something about that.

TOM: If you’re going to glue your drywall it has to be nailed in place or screwed in place while the glue is drying. It’s a good construction technique but it can’t be done one without the other.

PAM: They tell us that’s all they do.

TOM: I find that hard to believe.

PAM: Really?

TOM: Never saw drywall hung that way, yeah.

PAM: Really?

TOM: It would be impossible. How you going to hang a heavy sheet of drywall upside down …

LESLIE: Especially on the ceiling.

TOM: … on the ceiling, yeah.

PAM: Well, now …

TOM: Unless they’ve developed a special brand of drywall contact cement …

PAM: Yeah.

TOM: … I can’t imagine that that would work.

PAM: Well, they tell us it’s pretty strong but, you know, it just sounds a little unusual. I guess we were also concerned about the safety issues like toxicity and things like that; I mean as far as the long-term effects of the …

TOM: Well, you know, it’s always a good idea to try to use low-VOC products when they’re available.

LESLIE and PAM: Mm-hmm.

TOM: But when you’re building a house it’s very well ventilated. It’s going to off-gas, you know, plenty probably before you get it all closed in. So I would be more concerned about the quality construction right now. So if you’re going to install drywall and glue it, that’s great; but also, you want to make sure it’s screwed in place. Screws are the best way to keep the drywall boards on. You’ll never have nail pops and it’ll be real rock solid.

LESLIE: And you know what? If …

PAM: So even with manufactured housing you haven’t really heard of just gluing on drywall.

TOM: Unless there’s a way to do it at the factory where the boards are glued and then it’s pressed on, you know, in a factory setting so it dries. I could see that.

LESLIE: You know, you might to, Pam, question the manufacturer about the brand of the glue and then call that glue manufacturer themselves and find out what the proper technique is because maybe …

TOM: Yeah, but when it comes to manufactured homes, I think that those are just fine. I mean they, in some respects, are better built than stick homes.

LESLIE: Mm-hmm. When you’re not dealing with any weather conditions.

PAM: (overlapping voices) Yeah, we toured the factory. It was very impressive touring the factory; to watch.

TOM: Yeah, they really are good homes.

PAM: Yeah. OK, I heard you talking about them a couple of weeks ago on the radio and …

TOM: Yep.

PAM: … that’s the reason I was kind of curious about that. OK. So, I will do that. I will find out what kind of glue it is and maybe call the company; pursue it a little bit more.

TOM: (overlapping voices) Alright, Pam.

PAM: Thanks for taking my call.

TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show and spring is springing and we can help you get all of those home improvement chores done on your honey-do list, so call us with your home repair or your home improvement question 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.